Identifying customeroriented key aspects of perception with focus on longitudinal vehicle dynamics

Performance of the vehicle’s longitudinal dynamics essentially determines the character and the perception of a vehicle by the customer. To place a vehicle at a specific niche in the market or the product portfolio, it is necessary to know the relations between the variable parameters of the power train and their perception by the user. Therefore, as a necessary basis, this study deals with the identification of customer-oriented key aspects of perception with focus on longitudinal vehicle dynamics For this purpose, a group of subjects took part in a study, where they drove selected cars implementing a variety of different vehicle concepts. Being interviewed using a repertory grid technique, subjects were assisted in structuring and verbalizing their subjective perception. Subjective data for different aspects of the vehicle’s longitudinal dynamics were collected by standardized questionnaires. With the help of recorded driving dynamics data different driver types were identified. The influence of driver type on subjective perception was investigated. These aspects of perception could be described using a two dimensional structure identified by principal components analysis.